


Sleep

by IndividualistAndManiac



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Affection, Angst, Death Eaters, F/M, Fluff, Good Severus Snape, Harry Potter - Freeform, Hiding, Hogwarts, Insomnia, Love, Original Character(s), Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Romance, Sev needs to sleep, Severus Snape - Freeform, Severus Snape Lives, Stubborn Sev, reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndividualistAndManiac/pseuds/IndividualistAndManiac
Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts, Severus Snape won't sleep. He needs to stay awake, needs to see them coming. Only no one is coming, and sleep is very much needed.Something small and fluffy.
Relationships: Severus Snape & Original Character(s), Severus Snape & Original Female Character(s), Severus Snape x Reader, Severus Snape/Her, Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s), Severus Snape/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Snape is my favourite, and he will always be my favourite. But I just love a bit of angst. He'll be fine, I promise.
> 
> Also please don't be too hard on me, this is the first time I'm brave enough to publish my work on here. I'm terrified. HA. But thanks for reading! xx

It was cold. He could hear the wind outside, soft motion against the windows, rustling through leaves, hurling them from the ground, from the branches of the trees they were surrounded by.

He had not closed his eyes once since they had laid down the night before. How could he? There was a storm inside of him, similar to the one outside, except instead of leaves it was emotions shaking up his insides. Too many of them, and very few good ones. He had concentrated on the soft puffs of breath right next to him, right by his side, steady and reassuring.

He could see the trees from their bed, crowns and crowns of leaves in front of the window, and in the left bottom corner, right above the windowsill, he could make out the edges of the lake nearby. Throughout the night he had seen the reflection of the moon in it, now the sun was up, a cold sun, throwing long shadows on the walls, soft motions sometimes interrupted by gusts of wind so strong, they even shook the sunlight to the core.

It was peaceful. Just as he remembered, but this time, it didn’t feel lonely. It felt like peace. Comfort. It felt like hope.

Slowly, so not to disturb her in her sleep, he turned his head to the left for the first time in hours. She was heartbreakingly beautiful. So beautiful it made his heart clench and leap and shatter into a million pieces.

They had made it. He didn’t know how, but they had made it. They were alive,  _ she _ was alive. And he was still here to see it. He was still here, to be with her, to watch her become the woman she had longed to be all these years. They had a lifetime. They had a life.

He clenched his teeth and tightened his jaw as he felt tears spring to his eyes. He had cried, over and over, quietly, all through the night. He was not used to these feelings. He had not felt this  _ free,  _ this relieved, this  _ hopeful _ in years. He still couldn’t believe it was over. It would take time, years he suspected, for him to accept the fact that he had made it. Internalised it, realised it. Realised and understood his freedom. He could barely accept the burden that had been lifted from his shoulders and left him with this sudden emptiness inside. A hole that had started to fill with vibrant colours, with wishes, with love for this damnable girl right by his side, with something so hopeful he could barely handle it. He was not used to these kinds of feelings.

He couldn’t believe… this. All of this. Couldn’t believe no one was coming after him anymore, no one was chasing him. He expected them to. Had waited all night for someone to burst in through the door, set the house on fire, kill him. Or worse, kill her. His grip on his wand tightened, and so did the arm around her body, pressing her closer into his chest, closer to him. He’d kill anyone who’d try to hurt her. He was ready.

And yet again, a small voice at the back of his mind told him that it was over. That most of them were dead, that the Dark Lord himself had fallen, Malfoy and the remaining Death Eaters were gone, chased down by the Ministry or in hiding. His thoughts went round and round in circles, chewing over the same things over and over again, to no avail.

The sun had set, the moon had come and gone, and now the sun was back and even though he felt more exposed, he felt safer this way. He would see them coming.

“Why are you not asleep?”, he heard a soft murmur from his left. He turned his head and was met by hazel eyes, barely open, blinking tiredly against the soft morning light. He merely lifted one corner of his mouth and pressed his lips to her forehead. The question needn’t be answered, she knew him too well anyway.

“You need to sleep, darling”, she whispered into the quiet, one hand moving up his chest, softly caressing him. “Your body needs to heal, your mind needs to rest. Please, Sev.”

He closed his eyes, lips still lingering on her soft skin, all of his senses suddenly engulfed in her gorgeous scent and very aware of her pliant body. She had started calling him pet names recently, nothing too terrible, nothing he couldn’t bear. Quite the opposite actually, he had come to love it in secret every time it happened. No one had ever called him  _ darling _ before, and even if so, he would not have allowed it. But this girl, this gorgeous, beautiful, clever girl - she was different. Had always been different, right from the start. He was painfully aware that she could do anything -  _ anything _ \- to him and he’d still thank her. He was the kind of  _ in love _ that could get a man killed. Although he was also very aware that they had probably already crossed that bridge.

“I’ll stay awake”, she said all of a sudden and sounded way too assuring for this time of day. She lifted her head and peeled herself out of his touch, and Snape had to hold back a pathetic disapproving whine that wanted to make its way up his throat. He eyed her warily, how she sat up and leaned her beautiful frame against the headboard, still warm and soft from sleep.

She smiled at him gently and suddenly her hands were on his body, pulling him towards her, laying his head down on her stomach. One of his arms went around her body, pulling her closer without a second thought. She chuckled softly and he could feel one of her hands in his hair, gently scratching his scalp, carefully, lovingly stroking his head. The repetitive motions alone made his eyelids flutter, all of a sudden heavy with sleep, no matter how much he wanted to fight it. “I’ll stay awake”, she whispered, stroking his hair with one hand, the other coming up to repeat similar motions on his back after pulling the blanket up to his shoulders. “I’ll be right here when you wake up. I will wake you if something happens, but I promise you it won’t. You sleep, okay?” The softness of her voice and the gentle touches on his body were enough to make him forget where he was. Who he was. All he knew was that he wanted to sleep forever. He was so tired. “Let your body rest, my love. Let your mind rest. You will be okay.” There was no hole anymore. Only love, slowly spreading through his tired limbs, through his body, warming him from the inside. He felt… safe. He felt safe enough to allow himself to rest. For his breaths to become shallower, slower. He had let go of his wand long ago, hadn’t even noticed. “You and I, we will be okay.” She smelled like heaven. She was warm and she was everywhere, all around him, and even with his eyes closed he still saw her right in front of him. Laughing, the eyes framed by small wrinkles, sparkling with amusement and delight, the dark hair surrounding her beautiful face, soft waves shining in golden sunlight. He could hear her too. Laughing. The most beautiful sound he had ever heard, better than anything, better than silence.

And he let himself be wrapped up in her voice and her touches and her steady breaths, let it cloud his mind until nothing mattered anymore. Until he finally,  _ finally _ fell asleep.


End file.
